1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to food and beverage vessel, or cup, carriers and more particularly to foldable paperboard carriers with cup holders and a handle.
2. Background Information
It is known in the art to have paperboard food and cup carriers. Such carriers are common for carrying food and drinks from a food provider, such as a fast food restaurant or a sports stadium. It is customary that such carriers provide at least one opening for holding a cup. Above and attached to the base is commonly a handle panel comprising a panel extending up the middle of the base with holes for cups on each side of the panel with a hole near the top of the panel through which a user's hand can pass in carrying the carrier.
With cups that hold beverages carried outside the handle panel, fluid from the cups may easily spill from the cups. Foodstuffs fall from carriers lacking enclosing side walls. None of the previous paperboard folding cup carriers have splash protection and enclosing side walls.
It is also unknown to have a collapsible, dual-configuration carrier which serves as a food and beverage carrier in one configuration and as a sturdy beverage cup carrier when folded into a second configuration. Previous collapsible paperboard carriers are well suited for the purpose they were designed. Each may have its own advantage. For example, carriers may have apertures in a base for receiving beverage cups, which is convenient for its use but is less advantageous for use as a food carrier. Conversely, carriers may have an integral box without openings for receiving food stuffs but are less suited for use as a beverage carrier without a way to stabilize cups in the carrier.
An object of the present invention is to provide a carrier versatile in use as either an integral upright box without cup openings and adaptable to receive and stabilize cups in the box. Another object of the invention is to have a paperboard blank that is generally flat in a stored condition and easily folded into a sturdy carrier when in use. It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a foodstuffs carrier supported at its bottom for strength and stability. It is a further object that the carrier include a handle from which the carrier hangs. It is also an object of the present invention that the carrier provides a bottom strengthened to prevent collapse or folding under a load of cups and also supported by handles from which the carrier hangs during use.